Spring anchor unit for overhead swinging doors



June 26, 1956 H. P. LIPKING 2,751,524

SPRING ANCHOR UNIT FOR OVERHEAD SWINGING DQORS Filed Jan. 25, 1954 Henry P. Lip/ring INVENTOR.

F143 BY 1Z4, I 1 M ME & -J

SPRING ANCHOR UNIT FOR OVERHEAD SWINGING DOORS Henry P. Lipking, Brea, Califi, assignor to Harlan E. Stocks, Fresno, Calif.

Application January 25, 1954, Serial No. 405,748

7 Claims. (Cl. 16-163) The present invention relates to an anchor unit for anchoring the spring and guide arms in an overhead swinging door construction and this application is related to the subject matter of my copending application, Serial No. 301,881, for Garage Door Structure, filed July 31, 1952, now Patent No. 2,712,670, dated July 12, 1955.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide an anchor unit which is constructed to place the attachment of the spring forward of the guide arm pivots when the door is in a closed position to permit full control of the door by the spring as the door nears closing position.

It is an important object of the invention to provide a spring anchor unit whereby the spring may be adjusted forwardly and vertically with respect to the guide arms in accordance with the .weight of the door with which the unit is connected. 1

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a spring anchor unit including an anchor plate to which the door guide arms and the spring are pivotally connected with the spring being laterally offset from the bracket to permit swinging movement of the arms between the spring and the bracket.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompartying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of the spring anchor unit of the present invention connected to an over head swinging door with the door in its overhead position and the closing position of the door being indicated by dotted lines;

Figure 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the anchor unit per se and its attachment to the door jamb;

Figure 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the anchor unit disclosing the mounting of the spring thereupon, taken substantially along the plane of section line 3-3 of Figure 1; and

Figure 4- is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the attachment of one of the guide arms to the door, taken substantially along the plane of section line 4-4 of Figure 1.

Noting Figure 1, there is shown a cross-sectional view of a door opening bounded by a door jamb and header 12 with a second door jamb, not shown, bounding the opposite side of the opening. Within the opening and closing the same ordinarily is an overhead swinging door 14 shown in its open position in the full line view and being shown in its closed position in phantom outline.

To swingably mount the door in the door opening, a spring anchor unit 16 is provided on the door jamb 10 for swingably securing the door in the door opening. The second spring anchor unit 16 is mounted on the opposite door jamb, not shown, for securing the other side of the door thereto.

nitecl States Patent To secure the door 14 to each anchor unit 16, the inner surface of the door adjacent each side edge thereof has a vertically disposed angle iron mounted thereon with one leg of the angle iron extending perpendicularly from the surface of the door. The perpendicularly disposed leg of the angle iron is designated by the numeral 13. Adjacent its lower end, the leg is provided with a pair of longitudinally spaced slots 20 and a guide arm attaching lug or ear 22 projecting rearwardly from the surface of the door is attached by suitable fastening means in these slots for longitudinal adjustment along the leg. One end of a lower door guide arm 24 is pivotally secured in any suitable manner to the free end of this car 22.

Adjacent the upper end of the leg 18, a second door guide arm 26 is pivotally secured thereto in any suitable manner at one end thereof. Intermediate its end portions, the leg 18 is provided with a plurality of longitudinally spaced apertures 28 into a selected one of which one end of a door actuating spring 30 projects. The other end of the spring 39, arms 24 and 26 are pivotally secured to the anchor unit 16 to mount the door for overhead swinging movement within the door opening.

The spring anchor unit 16 consists essentially of a flat plate 32 having a rebent end 34 forming a flange for attaching the plate to the door jamb 10. In this position, the plate 32 is adapted to extend behind the door jamb with the outer surface of the plate being flush with the edge of the jamb.

The lower guide arm 24 is pivotally secured at its other end by means of suitable fasteners 36 to the lower edge portion of the plate 32. The other end of the upper guide arm 26 is likewise pivotally secured to the plate 32 by means of a suitable fastener 38, the upper arm 26 being pivotally secured on the plate 32 above the lower arm 24. Mounted on the plate 32 above the pivotal connections 36 and 38 of the arms 24 and 26 is a spring attaching means 40 for attaching the spring 30 in laterally offset relation to the plate 32 and forwardly and above the pivotal connections 36 and 38 of the arms 24 and 26.

To accomplish this mounting, a U-spaced spacing element 42 abuts the surface of the plate vertically above and substantially in vertical alignment with the pivoted connection 33 of the arm 26. A leg 46 abuts the spacing member 42 in laterally offset relation from the plate 32. Fasteners 44 extend through slots 48 in the leg 46 and through slots 50 in the plate 32 to clamp the spacing member 42 between the leg and the plate and to secure the plate to the leg. As will be noted particularly in Figure 2, the flanges of the channel-shaped or U-shaped spacing member straddle the fasteners 48 so that these fasteners pass between the flanges and thence through the slots 50 in the plate 32.

The forward end of the leg 46 is disposed forwardly of the pivotal connections, 36 and 38 in laterally offset relation to the plate 32. A rivet or other suitable fastener 52 is secured to the forward end of the leg 46 and the other end of the spring 30 is attached thereto. Thus, during the swinging movement of the door, the guide arm- 26 may pass between the spring 30 and the bracket plate 32 without interference. With this construction, the rear pivotal end of the spring 30 is at all times disposed forwardly of the pivotal connection of the guide arms 26 and 24 whereby the spring remains in full control of the door throughout the operation of the door between its opening and closing movements. By providing the pivotal connections 36, 38 and 52 in vertically spaced relation on the plate 32 with the pivotal connection 38 being disposed forwardly of the pivotal connection 36 and the pivotal connection 52 being disposed forwardly of the pivotal connection 38, the spring begins its upward moving action on the door almost immediately upon any attempt to raise the door. Further, during the downward swinging movement of the door to a closing position, only a small pull is required to overbalance the pull of the spring by the weight of the door during this downward movement, with the pull on the spring gradually relaxing as the door moves to its closed position, thereby affording full control of the door operator in the avoidance of slamming the door. a

The slots 48 in the leg 46 extend longitudinally of this leg and are thus disposed horizontally whereby the leg may be moved forwardly or rearwardly along the plate 32 to increase or decrease the tension on the spring in accordance with the weight of the door. Obviously, larger adjustments of this increased weight may be made by attaching the first end of the spring to a selected aperture 28 in the leg 18 of the door mounted angle bracket. The slots 54 in the plate 32 are vertically disposed whereby the position of the leg 46 may be moved upwardly or downwardly on the plate to further assist in providing a greater lifting action for the spring or a less lifting action for the spring in accordance with the weight of the door.

Very often, when the door jamb 10 is out of plumb, the door 14 when swung to its uppermost position is not level, but has a tendency to swing downwardly and rearwardly or not to swing to a full level position as shown in the drawings. To rectify this situation, the spacing member 42 may be slid forwardly or rearwardly on the plate 32 to provide a stop for the arm 26 to limit the swinging movement of the door to the desired position.

From the foregoing, the construction and operation of the device will be readily understood and further explanation is believed to be unnecessary. However, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A spring anchor unit for overhead swinging doors comprising a mounting bracket for attachment to a door jamb, a pair of door attaching arms pivotally mounted at one set of their ends in vertically spaced relation on' said bracket, means for attaching a door spring to said bracket forwardly of and above the pivotal mounting of the upper of said arms and laterally offset from said bracket to permit movement of the arms between the bracket and spring, and means for attaching the free ends of said arms and spring to a door in generally vertically spaced relation to one another, the free end of said spring being between the free ends of said arms.

2. A spring anchor unit for overhead swinging doors comprising a mounting bracket for attachment to a door jamb, a pair of door attaching arms pivotally mounted at one set of their ends in vertically spaced relation on said bracket, means for attaching a door spring to said bracket forwardly of the pivotal mounting of said arms and laterally offset from said bracket to permit movement of the arms between the bracket and spring, said attaching means comprising a spacing element abutting the surface of the bracket, a leg for attachment of the door spring thereto abutting said spacing element in laterally offset relation to said bracket, and fastening means attaching said leg to said bracket and clamping said spacing element therebetween.

3. The combination of claim 2, said bracket and said leg having registering slots therein, said fastening means being adjustably received in said slots.

4. The combination of claim 3, said bracket slots being vertically disposed for vertical adjustment of said leg, said leg slots being horizontally disposed for forward and rearward adjustment of said leg.

5. A spring anchor unit for overhead swinging doors comprising a mounting bracket for attachment to a door jamb, a pair of door attaching arms pivotally mounted at one set of their ends in vertically spaced relation on said bracket, means for attaching a door spring to said bracket forwardly of and above the pivotal mounting of the upper of said arms and laterally oifset from said bracket to permit movement of the arms between the bracket and spring, and an elongated means secured to the door and having a rearwardly extending leg for attaching the free ends of said arms and spring to a door in generally vertically spaced relation to one another, the free end ofsaid spring being between the free ends of said arms, the lower arm of said pair of arms being the longer of the pair, said leg including an element extending rearwardly therefrom and pivotally secured to V the free end of the lower arm for rearwardly oifsetting the free end of the lower arm from the free .ends of the upper arm and said spring.

6. A spring anchor unit for overhead swinging doors comprising a mounting bracket for attachment to a door jamb, a pair of door attaching arms pivotally mounted at one set of their ends in vertically spaced relation on said bracket, means for attaching a door spring to said bracket forwardly of and above the pivotal mounting of the upper of said arms and laterally offset from'said bracket to permit movement of the arms between the bracket and spring, and means for attaching the free ends of said arms and spring to a door in generally vertically spaced relation to one another, the free end of said spring being between the free ends of said arms, said one set of ends of said arms being in offset relation to one another.

7. A spring anchor unit for overhead swinging doors comprising a mounting bracket for attachment to a door jamb, a .pair of door attaching arms pivotally mounted at one set of their ends in vertically spaced relation on said bracket, means for attaching a door spring to said bracket above the pivotal mounting of the upper of said arms and laterally offset from said bracket to permit move ment of the arms between the bracket and spring, and means for attaching the free ends of said arms and spring to a door in generally vertically spaced relation to one another, the free end of. the spring being between the free ends of said arms.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

